Cal

Cal Zant is the shooter/author behind PrecisionRifleBlog.com. Cal is a life-long learner, and loves to help others get into this sport he's so passionate about. Cal has an engineering background, unique data-driven approach, and the ability to present technical information in an unbiased and straight-forward fashion. For more info, check out PrecisionRifleBlog.com/About.

Last year, I decided my focus in 2016 would be on training. I wanted to be strategic with the time I spend on this hobby, and thought training could help me more long-term than scattering my focus in a few directions, shooting random matches, and learning things the hard way. By training, I meant that I wanted to not only fire more rounds at the range practicing, but I also wanted to get professional instruction on long-range shooting. “There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them ...

Why don’t more people use gas guns in the precision rifle world? I get asked that question a lot. Many military snipers use semi-automatic rifles for long-range work, but there isn’t a single shooter among the top 100 competitors in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) using a semi-automatic rifle. Why not? Even though speed, maneuverability, and recoil management are huge parts to that game, the best shooters are all running bolt-action rifles. Some believe that is because AR’s can’t achieve the same precision as bolt guns, so the goal of this test was to quantify the precision difference between a couple of high-end ...

I normally don’t promote specific matches, but there is one coming up that is a benefit for a friend of mine, Jonathan Rubio. Jonathan is a gunsmith at West Texas Ordnance, the company who built my first precision rifle. He has competed in a few PRS matches, so some of you may have met him. He’s a friendly guy, who is always willing to help other shooters. Jonathan survived a terrible car wreck back in January, and this match is intended to help him with the pile of medical bills he accumulated through that ordeal. Here’s all the details about the match: ...

The goal of this field test was to quantify the temperature stability of the popular Hodgdon H4350 and Varget powders and compare those to IMR’s new Enduron line of powders. To do this we carefully measured muzzle velocities of meticulously loaded ammo over a huge range of temperatures. This test was conducted by Patrick Middlebrook. Patrick is passionate about the art of precision rifles. He’s a great shooter who has competed in numerous local matches, and several national PRS matches. He is also a 5-star handloader. I’ve learned a ton from him! Patrick has become a good friend of mine (Cal, ...

Lots of people have asked what I’ve been working on, and I’m excited to finally be able to tell you guys about a huge project I’ve invested a ton of time in over the past several months. Last year, Bryan Litz and team over at Applied Ballistics ask if I’d be interested in contributing to Volume 2 of their Modern Advancements in Long Range Shooting series. I have immense respect for the work those guys have done and the huge impact they’ve had on me and the rest of the shooting community, so I was honored to even be asked. ...

A few months ago, I introduced Flat Line Bullets (view post) designed by Josh Kunz and made by the Warner Tool Company (WTC). These new monolithic, lathe-turned bullets claimed some crazy-high Ballistic Coefficients (BC). BC defines how efficiently a bullet is able to cut through air and retain its velocity down-range. If you’ve been shooting long-range for any length of time, you know BC is one of the most important performance metrics for a bullet … and you’re also well-aware of how common it is for manufacturers to bloat the BC numbers they advertise. So everyone was anxious to know, are ...

Very few rifles have received the hype and fanfare like the Ruger Precision Rifle. With an MSRP of $1399, we all want to believe in a budget precision rifle that is match-ready out of the box… but does it deliver? This post tries to give you an honest and straight-forward review of what we experienced out of the box. Guest Author & the Best Christmas Gift Ever Recently a close friend asked me to help surprise her husband with a rifle for Christmas. She had heard him mention one rifle in particular, and asked if I recognized what kind it ...

I’ve surveyed the top 100 shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) for the past 4 years, and published what gear they’re running in my annual “What The Pros Use” series of posts. This year, I also asked a few questions about their ammo loading practices and how much they practice. When handloading there are a thousand operations and details you can spend time trying to perfect. It’s easy to get caught up trying to do them all, or spending a ton of time focusing intently on a couple of aspects and completely miss other important steps. But I was ...

Great ammo is a cornerstone of competitive shooting. Once you master the fundamentals of marksmanship, the quality of your ammo can become a differentiator. Want to know what bullets, brass, primers, and powder the best precision rifle shooters in the country are running? That’s what this post is all about. I recently surveyed the top 100 shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS), and this post reviews the reloading components those élite shooters were using in 2015. The PRS tracks how top competitors place in major rifle matches across the country. These are the major leagues of sniper-style competitions, with ...

A flood of shooting bags have enter the market over the past 5 years. Honestly, this could be one of the fastest changing aspects in the sport of precision rifles. We’ve clearly departed from sand-filled tube socks! These are no longer just squeeze bags under the butt of the rifle, they’re now helping shooters build more stable shooting positions. It’s clear how dramatically they’ve impacted the sport when you watch several guys struggle on a stage, only to see the last shooter clean it and make it look EASY, all because they’ve mastered the art of using bags. I recently ...

Disclaimer: Because this site and its affiliates have no control over the individual loading practices and/or components used, no responsibility is assumed by PrecisionRifleBlog.com or its affiliates in the use of this data. The information is to be used at the sole discretion of the user and the user assumes all risk. CAUTION: The author of this blog has not independently verified the accuracy of the data contained on this site. Failure to follow safe loading practices could result in severe personal injury (including death) or gun damage to the user or bystanders. Technical data and information contained herein are intended to provide information based upon the limited experience of individuals under specific conditions and circumstances. They do not detail the comprehensive training, procedures, techniques and safety precautions that are absolutely necessary to properly carry on similar activity. Always consult comprehensive reference manuals and bulletins for details of proper training requirements, procedures, techniques and safety precautions before attempting any similar activity. Be alert - publisher cannot be responsible for errors in published load data.